‘King the Land’ producers apologize for show's depiction of Arab prince

The production company behind JTBC’s romantic comedy “King the Land” issued an official apology on Wednesday for its cultural insensitivity. The creators -- Npio Entertainment, BY4M Studio and SLL -- expressed their sincere apology to the viewers in an official apology letter posted on the show's website in Korean, English and Arabic. “We had no intention of caricaturing or distorting any particular country or culture,” the production companies said in the lett

July 13, 2023

Koyote marks 25th anniversary with new single 'Wish'

Veteran dance music trio Koyote on Wednesday marked its 25th debut anniversary with a new digital single, “Wish.” “This single can be described as a very ‘Koyote-like’ single, a song that describes our music style very well. It is a powerful dance song but its lyrics are quite sad. Just like our previous songs, this song is also easy to sing along to,” said Shin Ji of Koyote during a press conference in Seoul on the day of the single’s release. The new s

July 13, 2023

BamBam to embark on 1st standalone world tour in September

Thai rapper-singer BamBam of the K-pop boy band GOT7 is to set off on his first standalone world tour titled “Area 52” in September. Area 52 refers to unexplored places around the world. The tour is expected to offer a fruitful set list of newly arranged tracks and performances, according to label Abyss Company on Thursday. BamBam plans to have special performances that can only be seen at his solo concerts. The world tour will kick off at the Olympic Hall in Seoul on Sept. 16. BamBa

July 13, 2023

[Herald Interview] 'Broadway needs to find ways to welcome new audiences'

K-Musical Market was launched in 2021 with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Arts Management Service to promote Korean original musicals internationally. The Korean government's hope is that Korean musicals might replicate the achievements of K-pop, movies and dramas. And that hope is not groundless. Musicals account for 75 percent of ticket revenue in the country's performing arts industry and the musical scene is burgeoning with countless big an

July 13, 2023

Experimental music group Gongmyoung to embark on voyage 'With Sea'

South Korean experimental music group Gongmyoung is set to perform at the Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater on Friday and Saturday. Known for experimenting with sounds from both Western and traditional Korean wind and percussion instruments, Gongmyoung has been an in-house artist at the traditional Korean music performance venue in Jongno-gu since 2022. The upcoming performance titled “With Sea” will take the audience on a musical voyage to the sea. The band has selected 10 songs t

July 12, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s Lisa may leave label: report

Lisa of Blackpink might not renew her contract with label YG Entertainment that expires next month, according to a local media report on Wednesday. The two parties have not been able to reach an agreement and a Chinese agency which requested to remain anonymous tipped off the media that the label told the company that it cannot arrange an activity for the artist from August and on due to the uncertainty surrounding the contract. YG Entertainment said that it was because of the group’s tou

July 12, 2023

‘Squid Game 2’ production staff apologizes for bossy attitude during shoot

“Squid Game 2,” the sequel to the megahit Netflix series, is stirring up controversy online over alleged rude behavior toward users of Incheon Airport from production staff. “We heard that citizens were inconvenienced while 'Squid Game 2' was filming at Incheon Airport on Monday,” stated "Squid Game 2” makers on Wednesday. “We did our best to announce to citizens of the on-site situation as much detail as possible.” The producers offered a

July 12, 2023

Mamamoo Plus to drop 1st EP 'Two Rabbits' next month

Mamamoo Plus, a subunit of K-pop girl group Mamamoo, returns with new music on Aug. 3. The duo of Sola and Moonbyul will drop first mini album “Two Rabbits,” according to RBW, the agency that houses Mamamoo Plus, on Wednesday. Sola and Moonbyul came up with the name of the album as they each hope to be as clever as a rabbit, overcoming difficulties wisely to expand their musical and conceptual spectrum. The two say they took an active role in making the album to present music worth l

July 12, 2023

Sandara Park returns to music scene, ends 6-year hiatus

K-pop solo artist Sandara Park is finally back in the music scene with a digital mini album that dropped on Wednesday. The new album, “Sandara Park,” is the artist’s first solo album, coming six years after 2NE1’s final single, “Goodbye,” was released in January 2017. Sandara Park had been a member of the now defunct 2NE1 since their debut in 2009. The concept of this new album that Sandara Park prepared especially for her fans, is inviting the solo artist&rsq

July 12, 2023

Kim Seo-hyung feels empathy, sadness for her character in ‘Greenhouse’

Actor Kim Seo-hyung explores why bad things happen to nice people in the thriller "Greenhouse," in which she stars as the protagonist. The story of “Greenhouse” revolves around a nurse and caregiver, Moon-jung, who lives in a greenhouse. It delves into the character's downfall as she tries to cover up the accidental death of an old couple in her care. Kim said she cried after reading the movie's script for the first time. “I did not ask myself whether or not

July 12, 2023

Nmixx returns with summer song produced by Park Jin-young

JYP girl group Nmixx on Tuesday returned to the stage with its third single album, “A Midsummer Nmixx’s Dream.” The new single album carries lead track “Party O’Clock” along with “Roller Coaster,” which was released prior to the official album drop. “The storyline from our first mini album ‘expergo’ continues into this new album in which we finally meet with Nswers (the group's official fandom, pronounced 'answers')

July 12, 2023

[Herald Interview] Director of Japanese all-women theater troupe impressed by Korean musicals' quality, state support

Kazunori Nakamura, director of Takarazuka Revue Company, has been observing South Korea’s musical industry over the past three decades. This was his first time at K-Musical Market and he was impressed by efforts put on by the Korean government. "I am surprised that there is a systematic effort for international expansion. And it's not just for the sake of overseas expansion. I felt that the quality of the creative teams, the productions and script writing were at a high level,&

July 12, 2023

Gonjiam Music Festival kicks off with peace gala concert

The 2023 Gonjiam Music Festival commenced Monday with a gala concert harmonizing musicians across diverse genres and backgrounds. The opening was the Opening Peace Gala Concert, highlighting the importance of peace on the 70th anniversary of The Korea Herald’s founding, the 70th anniversary of the Armistice Agreement and the 70th anniversary of the Korea-US Alliance. The Korea Herald was founded on Aug. 15, 1953, less than a month after the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement, which

July 12, 2023

[Herald Review] ‘I Haven’t Done Anything’ a viral-chasing, fast-paced mystery comedy

A blistering 80-minute comedy made for the digital age, in which there seems to be no greater goal than going viral, “I Haven’t Done Anything” comes to the big screen this week after premiering at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival on June 30. The film begins with a YouTube-style video documentary about former child actor Oh Tae-kyung, better known as “Little Oh Dae-su” for his role as the younger version of Choi Min-sik‘s character in “Ol

July 11, 2023

‘Concrete Utopia’ sets itself apart with grand-scale, realistic set designs

Director Um Tae-hwa’s upcoming black comedy disaster thriller “Concrete Utopia” is expected to wow moviegoers with its grand-scale, realistic set designs. The film -- based on the second part of a webtoon about an earthquake and its aftermath, “Pleasant Neighbor” -- tells the story of apartment residents whose homes threaten their lives. Focusing on depicting the reality of an apartment complex in Seoul destroyed in a large earthquake, the production team spent five

July 11, 2023

[New on the Scene] Kang Tae-ju on giving 100 percent for acting roles

After rookie actor Kang Tae-ju beat 1,980 candidates to land one of the main roles in the action noir flick "The Childe," all he could think about was being able to deliver a stellar performance for his first-ever film project. “It was important for me fulfill my duty. There were so many things that I had to complete in a short period of time, so there was no time to worry (about how to do well) but to focus on what was in front of me,” the 28-year-old actor told The Korea

July 11, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen garners 100m views with ‘Super’ music video

Seventeen has already received 100 million views on YouTube for the music video for “Super,” according to agency Pledis Entertainment on Tuesday. The video was unveiled on April 24 and hit the mark in 78 days, a record for the band. It is the sixth video from the 13-member act to reach the milestone, following those for “Don’t Wanna Cry,” “Clap,” “Very Nice,” “Left ＆ Right” and “Hot.” “Super” is one of the

July 11, 2023

Jin of BTS named 'elite soldier,' gets early promotion

Jin of BTS announced on Weverse, a social platform the band uses to communicate with fans, that he was promoted to corporal two months earlier than scheduled after receiving the "elite soldier" title. In South Korea, all men deemed physically eligible between the ages of 18 and 35 are required to serve in the military. Jin is currently serving as an assistant instructor at a front-line infantry division boot camp in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, since last December. He was the first of

July 11, 2023

Zerobaseone blooms with debut album, making all-time record

Zerobaseone, a group that consists of nine artists chosen through Mnet’s idol survival program, “Boys Planet,” made its grand debut on Monday. “We’ve dreamed of this debut for so long. We prepared a lot for this debut, hoping to show enhanced performance and vocal skills to our fans and the public,” said Gyuvin of Zerobaseone during a press conference in Seoul on the day of its debut. “We were able to debut thanks to the interest and support of many peop

July 11, 2023

Two candidates unveiled for SM’s new NCT subunit pre-debut reality show

SM Entertainment on Monday unveiled some of the trainees taking part in its pre-debut reality show, “NCT Universe: LASTART.” The trainees unveiled go by the names Riku and Ryo, while eight more trainees are set to be revealed in the coming weeks. These trainees are candidates who will debut as NCT’s new subgroup, one of the three new groups that the K-pop powerhouse plans to launch this year. Through the pre-debut reality show, SM will show the process of evaluating the 10 can

July 11, 2023